> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.shortcutco.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.shortcutco.com/readme/dispatch/needs-attention.md).

# Needs attention

One tab for everything that needs a decision: skipped and sent-back stops, stops with no crew, double-bookings, overdue chemical rounds, and more.

Things go sideways in the field. A crew skips a stop, sends a visit back, or runs out of daylight. A job gets imported without a crew. Two crews end up booked at the same house. Dispatch collects all of it on the **Needs attention** tab, and the red number on the tab tells you how much is waiting.

## It's the same board, filtered

Needs attention is the Dispatch board showing only the rows that need you, grouped by crew with **Unassigned** at the top (usually the quickest wins). Everything you normally do still works: open a stop, use the **⋯** menu, or tick several rows and use the black toolbar at the bottom.

Two things are different:

* Each row has a **Red flags** column naming the problem, an **Attention date** column (or **Undated** for work with no date yet), and the **Actions** button is the one that fixes it.
* There are no route numbers, because this list spans many days and "stop 3" wouldn't mean anything.

<figure><img src="https://2299783971-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOhi7KtJ4vY1pDKwWu5SV%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-38c81eb93ba4de4d04733c0da37bbcc0219beac1%2Fdispatch-needs-attention.png?alt=media" alt="The Needs attention tab in Dispatch: an Unassigned lane at the top with Unassigned red flags and Assign crew buttons, then a crew lane of Not finished visits with Reschedule buttons, and the 9 flags filter chip in the filter row"><figcaption><p>Needs attention lists every visit that needs a decision, with the button that fixes it on each row.</p></figcaption></figure>

## What lands here, and the button that fixes it

| Why it's here                                                                         | Red flag                | The button                                                 |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Nobody is assigned to the stop                                                        | **No crew**             | **Assign crew** (or **Schedule** if it has no date either) |
| The day passed and the visit is still open                                            | **Not finished**        | **Reschedule**                                             |
| A crew tapped Reschedule on their phone                                               | **Needs rescheduling**  | **Reschedule**                                             |
| A crew tapped Skip visit                                                              | **Skipped**             | **Reschedule**                                             |
| Two crews are booked at the same property on the same day                             | **Double-booked**       | **Resolve**                                                |
| The address can't be placed on the map                                                | **Missing coordinates** | **Fix address**                                            |
| A chemical round is due and nothing is scheduled                                      | **Chemical due**        | **Schedule**                                               |
| An hourly job needs another day (the crew asked, or no days are left on the calendar) | **Additional workday**  | **Schedule**                                               |

A row can have more than one flag. It shows up to two buttons; any extra fixes are in the **⋯** menu, which also always has **View details**.

## The badge

The number counts everything on the list: anything still open from past days, plus anything flagged in the **next two weeks**. It only goes down when someone deals with an item; nothing quietly ages out.

If the count can't load, the badge becomes a small red dot. Open the tab and click **Retry**.

## Closing out a stop that won't be rescheduled

Not every row needs a new date. Sometimes the work happened and nobody marked it. Sometimes the customer called it off. Pick the action that matches what really happened:

| What happened                                                                                                     | Use              | What it does                                                                                                                         |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| The work was done and you want to bill it                                                                         | **Complete**     | Completes the visit and creates the invoice. Only for stops that are still scheduled.                                                |
| The work still needs doing                                                                                        | **Reschedule**   | Moves the visit to a new date.                                                                                                       |
| The work was dealt with outside Shortcut, for example done but never marked, or already billed in your old system | **Mark handled** | Closes the visit. No invoice, no customer message, and no automation runs. The customer's history shows **Visit closed as handled**. |
| The work isn't going to happen                                                                                    | **Cancel Job**   | Closes the visit as canceled. No invoice.                                                                                            |

**Mark handled** and **Cancel Job** are in the row's **⋯** menu, and they work on skipped and needs-rescheduling visits too. Both ask you to confirm, because neither can be undone. The confirmation for Mark handled reads **Mark 1 visit handled?** and spells out that nothing is invoiced and no customer is messaged.

<figure><img src="https://2299783971-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOhi7KtJ4vY1pDKwWu5SV%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-37a73cd23d8747b3cd323b57704b66c08a2cceb3%2Fdispatch-needs-attention-row-menu.png?alt=media" alt="The Needs attention tab with the ⋯ menu open on a skipped stop, showing Mark handled, Cancel Job, and View details"><figcaption><p>A skipped stop that won't be rescheduled: close it with Mark handled or Cancel Job from the ⋯ menu.</p></figcaption></figure>

**To close several at once,** tick the rows (the checkbox on a lane header ticks the whole lane) and use the black toolbar at the bottom: **Mark handled** or **Cancel Jobs**. If only some of the ticked rows can take an action, the button carries a small number showing how many can; hover it to read, for example, *3 of 5 selected can be marked handled*. Skipped and needs-rescheduling rows only take Mark handled and Cancel Jobs from the toolbar; reschedule them one at a time with their own **Reschedule** button.

<figure><img src="https://2299783971-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOhi7KtJ4vY1pDKwWu5SV%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-e1d34d591e468750e535bca60243eac8edd87084%2Fdispatch-bulk-bar-mark-handled.png?alt=media" alt="Needs attention with four rows ticked and the black toolbar showing Mark handled and Cancel Jobs"><figcaption><p>Tick several rows to close them together with Mark handled or Cancel Jobs.</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
In Dispatch and the Calendar, a visit you marked handled shows as **Canceled**. The customer's history on their profile is where it reads **Visit closed as handled**.
{% endhint %}

Mark handled is on the desktop board only. On a phone, use **Cancel**.

## Handling a double-booking

Click **Resolve** (or the red **Double-booked** badge on either stop). A window titled **Two crews at this property** shows both sides next to each other: each crew, what they're scheduled to do, and roughly how long. From there:

* **Reschedule** either side. Pick whichever is easier to move. The flag clears once they're no longer on the same day.
* **Mark intentional** if both crews really should be there. The flag clears for both stops on that day and won't come back for that property on that day. (If the same thing happens on another day, it flags again.)

<figure><img src="https://2299783971-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOhi7KtJ4vY1pDKwWu5SV%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-cebf48cb7b4f83d7d2224cf114ee3492faf73c76%2Fdispatch-double-booked.png?alt=media" alt="The double-booking window showing both crews side by side with their services and estimated time, a Reschedule button on each side, and Mark intentional"><figcaption><p>A double-booking, both sides at once, so you can decide which one moves without opening two stops.</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
Splitting a visit between two crews on purpose (see [Split visits](/readme/dispatch/split-and-shared-visits.md)) never flags as double-booked. Dispatch knows you meant it.
{% endhint %}

## Handling unfinished work

**Not finished** means the scheduled day came and went with the visit still open. Use the table above: **Complete** it if the work was done and should be billed, **Reschedule** it if it still needs doing, **Mark handled** if it was taken care of some other way, or **Cancel Job** if it isn't happening.

Hourly jobs that legitimately run over several days don't show as Not finished. They go to the **Unclosed** list in the side panel instead; see [Closing out the day](/readme/dispatch/closing-out-the-day.md).

## What stays off this list

* **Old visits from an import.** When jobs move over from your old system, visits dated before the day the import goes live come in as history, already closed as handled. They don't land here as open work.
* **Old visits on a paused job.** When you resume a paused job, its skipped and needs-rescheduling visits from before the resume date are canceled, because the new schedule replaces them. See [Pause, resume, or cancel a job](/readme/jobs-and-scheduling/pause-resume-or-cancel-a-job.md).

## On a phone

The list becomes cards. Every card shows all of its flags and has **Open details**, **Reschedule**, and **Cancel** buttons alongside the fix, since there's no row menu to open. **Cancel** works on skipped and needs-rescheduling stops too.

{% hint style="info" %}
A good habit: clear the Needs attention badge at the end of each day, the same way you'd clear a voicemail light. Two minutes a day keeps it at zero.
{% endhint %}

## Related pages

* [Dispatch overview](/readme/dispatch.md)
* [Closing out the day](/readme/dispatch/closing-out-the-day.md)
* [Worker app overview](/readme/worker-app/worker-app-overview.md)

<details>

<summary>Still stuck?</summary>

Email **<hello@shortcutco.com>** with a screenshot of the Needs attention tab and which item won't clear.

</details>